Do you allow the detect (alignment) spells in your campaign?

Dalenthas · Feb 10, 2002

Just a poll to see how many of you did like I did and ditched the alignment dectetion spells.

pontus · Feb 10, 2002

I intend to drop alignments completely from my next campaign, along with divine casters. But as my current campaign is set in Faerun, I've left things as they are there.

Vaxalon · Feb 10, 2002

How I handle it

1> The mere fact that something is evil is not sufficient reason to attack it.

2> Good clerics in my game cast Detect Evil on their congregation regularly. They use it to detect those who might need some special counseling. Of course, if they detect a STRONG aura, the confrontation might not be so gentle, but the first step is still investigation.

3> Evil clerics and the like use Detect Good in order to pick out targets for their good-affecting spells and effects. They won't waste a Desecrate spell on a party with mostly neutrals.

Sammael99 · Feb 10, 2002

I didn't ditch them completely. It's just that Evil and Good are extra-worldly concepts. So a demon would register, but not an absolute bastard mafia don...

This allows me to keep the concept without making it too easy on the players. And if I ever need a demon not to register, there are solutions...

Orco42 · Feb 10, 2002

Normally I use them normaly.

But my group is in Ravenloft now so only detect law/chaos works.

I have never had any problems with my players abusing detect spells (they don't cast detect evil unless they have reason to think something is fishy).

Phanboy · Feb 10, 2002

nope I run ravenloft

I like the idea of being responsible for your actions as opposed to your intent as described in DragonStar.

Maerdwyn · Feb 10, 2002

I ditched alignment for all mortals (even really long lived mortals like dragons). Extra-planar sorts are affected by things like circles of protection, holy blades, etc, but evil mortals aren't.

Tom Cashel · Feb 10, 2002

Sounds like you all should be playing Exalted instead of D&D.

If you run it like that you should drop alignment altogether and go on personality alone.

Hand of Evil · Feb 10, 2002

A lot of players and DMs have issues with the detects but mostly the problems go back to lazy DMs. They have not taking the time to draw the line in the sand and say...

"Hey players, this is what I see as evil in my game and everything else is either good or neutral and just because a dectect spell shows evil, that means they are capible of one of the items on the list not that they have done it".

Maerdwyn · Feb 11, 2002

Hand of Evil said:
"Hey players, this is what I see as evil in my game and everything else is either good or neutral and just because a dectect spell shows evil, that means they are capible of one of the items on the list not that they have done it".

But if that's how detect spells are supposed to work, shouldn't any being with free will detect as evil? Even a paladin, especially a PC paladin, has the capability to commit an evil act, right?